More than just a book on old men and their cars
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
To commemorate its 25th anniversary last November, the Association of Indonesia Vintage/Classic Cars Lovers (PPMKI) launched a book this month about themselves and their cars.
At first glance, the book, Jejak Roda Petualang (Trails of Adventurers' Wheels), seems to be a standard tome on the history of any association: A story of its formation, plus the usual, brief profiles of its founders, and some old pictures.
Of course, Jejak Roda Petualang has all of these.
However, authors Em Samudra and Uslik Kristinilia have successfully produced an interesting read, which is full of pictures of vintage and classic cars -- including 23 of Sukarno's presidential cars and interesting profiles of some PPMKI members.
PPMKI, formed on Nov. 13, 1979, in South Jakarta, now has 400 members, most of them middle-aged men from the middle-to-high income bracket, because the hobby is not cheap.
The association, which stipulates that classic/vintage cars must be at least 40 years old, has organized more than 300 activities consisting of rallies, tours, exhibitions and charity events.
The first national rally, held in 1980, was a speed event with Jakarta-Semarang-Jakarta as the competition route.
The champions, Aswin Bahar and Slamet Sukardi, who drove a 1948 Plymouth, completed the 500 kilometers in five hours 40 minutes.
However, members thought that speed rallies were unsuitable for them because their cars were more than 40 years old; consequently, they gradually changed the nature of PPMKI events to tour rallies.
These became a favorite with members because the whole family could join in.
Textile manufacturer PT Naintex president director Hasan Rahardja says in the book, "Participation in PPMKI forced me to take leave for tours to explore the archipelago. If not for PPMKI, I would have worked relentlessly, from Monday through Monday. My life would have been boring."
Over a period of more than 25 years the rallies provided much for members to reminisce over.
Together, they crossed the Mahakam River in a large ship, a country road in Kalimantan made from planks, a 6,000-kilometer route from Jakarta to Banda Aceh and back again, and a sea voyage on a small ship to Komodo Island (while their beloved cars had to be left behind at a port in Sumbawa).
Besides rallies, PPMKI, which has 16 regional offices, has also organized some exhibitions. The largest of these was in 1992 when 200 old cars were displayed in Senayan, South Jakarta.
Current PPMKI chairman Bambang Rus Effendi, who has a 1936 Austin Seven sitting in his living room, said that the next rally would take members to Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.